Alice
by goodbye world
Summary: When Alice Longbottom becomes head girl instead of Rose Weasley, chaos ensues.
1. Impossible

**Welcome to Alice Longbottom's life.**

A large brown owl flew through the window just as I sat down to breakfast and dropped a bulging envelope in my eggs. I sighed and picked it up, attempting to wipe off some of the grime. The owl pecked at my hand, drawing blood. I flinched. "Ow," I said as he made another pass for the hand. I drew away. "Not this time, you don't." I rummaged around in my pocket and pulled out a couple knuts. "There you are." The owl flew off once he'd gotten his tip.

I turned my attention to the envelope, pulling off the Hogwarts seal and opening it. Inside I found: my supply list for seventh year, a letter of some kind, and—

A Head Girl badge! But that couldn't be. Everyone knew Rose Weasley was a shoe-in for Head Girl for our year. The only reason I even got to be a prefect was because I was a Hufflepuff rather than a Gryffindor. There was no way I got it. They must have just gotten the addresses mixed up. Yes, that was it. The addresses. The Weasleys did live awfully close to my family.

I pulled out the letter—most likely addressed to Rose, telling her she'd be head girl—and found _my_ name at the top. Not Rose's. Mine. Alice Longbottom. Impossible.

"Oh, you got your letter, honey," I heard my father say from the stairs. I looked up to see him smiling. "I was practically about to explode with not telling you. Professor McGonagall told me in June."

"I think there's been a mistake," I said uncertainly. "They sent me Rose's badge."

"No mistake," Neville Longbottom said, shaking his head at his daughter's silliness. "It's yours."

Impossible.

When Rose Weasley's owl came she ran to the window, bursting with excitement. She quickly handed over a tip for the bird and then tore open the envelope. But the only thing inside was a supply list. No badge. No letter of commendation. She was supposed to be Head Girl. Who else would it be? One of the other three seventh year prefect girls must have beat her out. Impossible.

How could someone take this away from her? It had been her dream for well over ten years now! They couldn't do this to her. They wouldn't do this to her. Rose would make sure of it. She would win this once and for all. No matter what.

At eleven o'clock sharp on September first, the Hogwarts Express pulled out of King's Cross station. I sat awkwardly in the prefects' compartment with the others, my Head Girl badge blazing on my chest. Rose was red-eyed and surrounded by the other female prefects. They continually shot glares my way. For what? Being _assigned_ to be Head Girl? Being a good student? Even the fifth and sixth years from my own house were clustered around Rose.

The Head Boy was not here yet, so we couldn't start with assignments and patrols. I sat, trying to pretend I didn't notice the dirty looks and whispers.

Just as I thought I couldn't take it any more, the door to the compartment slammed open and Albus Potter walked in. Wearing the Head Boy badge. I groaned inwardly. It _would_ be Rose's cousin. Well. All right then.

I cleared my throat and stood up, saying, "Okay, now that we're all here, we should probably start patrols." I looked at Albus for support, to continue on, and got nothing. "I thought we would start with fifth year patrols, then switch to sixth years at noon and seventh at one, and then…" I trailed off at the lack of response from the other prefects. They all just stared. The color rose in my cheeks and I felt my eyes begin to burn. Why did this always have to happen?

I sat down.

Albus stood up. "You heard her. Fifth years, get a move on." He looked at each of them and they all looked away, mildly ashamed. The prefects scattered out, fifth years to patrol, sixth and seventh to join their friends.

"Thank you," I said to Albus when they were all gone.

He did not reply, did not even look at me, just turned his back and left, as well. And I was alone. All alone.

I stood, brushing my short, straight brown hair back from my face, and walked from the compartment to find somewhere else to be.

Apparently, the only "somewhere else" available to the girl who had taken Rose Weasley's spot turned out to be in Frank Longbottom's compartment, filled with all the hyperactive Gryffindor second years. And I did not fancy spending four hours crammed on a train with a bunch of twelve-year-old boys. Not that I didn't like them. They were nice enough. I just didn't happen to think farts were particularly funny. And that was the only subject they deemed worthy to discuss.

So I left, closing the door on various armpit-based noises and raucous laughter, only to come face-to-face with Rose herself. Rose's eyes were curiously clear of any redness. They were, however, glaring straight at me as Rose pushed her way past.

"Wait," I called after her. She did not turn. "I'm sorry," I said to her back. I don't know whether or not she heard because she kept on walking. "I'm so sorry." But this time it was a whisper, meant for no ears but mine.

A compartment door closed behind me, but there was no one there when I turned around. I sighed and made my way back to the prefects' compartment to wait out the rest of the trip to Hogwarts. This was going to be a long year.


	2. Roxanne

**This one's for you, Roxanne.**

Once upon a time, the Head Boy and Girl were the most respected, well-liked students in Hogwarts. They got top grades, were loved by all of their peers, and were able to solve most any problem thrown at them.

Quite obviously this was a long, long time ago, because when I walked into the Great Hall after the train ride, badge shining like a beacon on my chest, I was met with only cold stares and silence. Why on earth had they made me Head Girl? I mean, honestly, Rose was a much better candidate, as evidenced by, well, everyone else's opinions! They all thought that I was unfit for the position. Even_ I_ thought so. So why in the name of socks had Professor McGonagall made me a stupid Head?

This all ran through my mind as I made my way to the Hufflepuff table in the center of the Great Hall to sit next to my friends. I did have _some_ friends, of course, ones who, I suppose, liked me better than Rose. Or maybe just didn't care enough about the whole Head situation for it to matter. These people were: Lilac Evensbury, Amanda (Mandy) Greengrass, and Eddie Thomas.

Lilac was a complete bookworm, and had probably spent the whole summer with her nose in a novel and her head in the clouds. I'd be surprised if she even knew about this whole Head Girl business.

Mandy was a bit of a rebel. She only listened if it was in her best interest and sometimes not even then. Chances were, if you told her to do something she'd do the exact opposite. She probably didn't care if I was Head Girl or a headless chicken.

And Eddie was a bit of a screw-up, to put it nicely. He could never seem to get anything right in any lessons and was always falling over or forgetting the password or some other such error. He most likely just made a mistake again and ended up on the losing side of this battle: mine.

So I sat down next to them and chatted about the new year and how we'd be done after this and blah, blah, blah, completely ignoring my new status and the giant pin I wore. That was what we did, my friends and I. Whe made small talk, blabbered about surface things, and sat together just to not sit alone.

And then the first years came in, huddled and nervous-looking, all trying very hard not to lead the group. The sorting hat was brought out and the ritual began, he giving a song, and then my father (Professor Longbottom here) began calling names.

I paid attention, cheering for all sorted into Hufflepuff and at least looking cheerful for the other three houses. One name near the end caught my special attention: Weasley, Roxanne. She must have been one of Rose's cousins, but she looked different from the other Weasleys. They all had shocking red hair, pale skin, and freckles. But not this one. She was darker, with an olive tone to her skin and almost-black hair. She was quite pretty, and very nervous.

The sorting hat was lowered onto Roxanne's head. I looked over at the other Weasleys and saw them watching with grins and laughter. She would be a Gryffindor, of course. They all were. For generations upon generations, the Weasleys were all Gryffindors.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The sorting hat shouted instead, shocking the smiles from the faces of her cousins. The girl's shoulders deflated slightly as she walked over to our table, looking wistfully at her cousins, including Molly, another first year Weasley who had been sorted into Gryffindor. We cheered and she was patted on the back when she sat down but still, she looked upset. I felt the urge to go and comfort her, but no Weasley would want anything to do with me, I was sure. Not after Rose.

"Would the Head Boy and Girl please stand," Professor McGonagall said. Albus and I stood and all the school's eyes were on me. I wanted to sink down to the floor and melt away into nothingness but I didn't know a spell for that and doubted it would be appropriate anyway.

Finally we were allowed to sit and the food appeared. It was as good a feast as any, but I still felt the weight of the stares and whispers pressing down on me. I saw covert glances, heard my name crop up in conversations, and even received a few dirty looks. I focused on my food and pretended not to notice. It would be over soon. I could just go up to the Heads' Dorm and curl up on my bed and forget about the world for a while.

I just had to ignore it. And so I did.

At the end of dinner, Professor McGonagall called us up to her table to give us the location of our dorm (third floor, behind the unicorn painting) and the password ("Gillywater"), told us we coud change it "at our discretion", and sent us on our way. Albus split off from me almost immediately and hurried up to the dorm. I trudged up two flights of stairs and made my way to the unicorn painting.

"Gillywater," I stated and the painting swung open. I stepped inside. "Oh my…" The room would have been quite beautiful, with plush white couches and armchairs, two desks (mine on the left, I assumed, because of the Hufflepuff decorations), and a cute little fireplace, but it was an absolute mess. Clothes and books were strewn all about and quills and parchment were snapped and ripped. Well. That Albus certainly was a mess.

I began making my way across the room to the staircase on my left which led, presumably, to my room. I was careful to step on nothing and move nothing even though my instincts screamed at me to clean up. But it wasn't mine.

And then I saw the picture. It was a framed photograph of my parents, Frank, and me. And it was lying on the ground with all the other mess, the glass cracked. _Oh, no_. I looked around again, more closely this time, and saw that the robes were much too short to fit Albus, that the ties and scarves were yellow and black. _Please, no_. And it was all mine.

"No," I whispered. "What did I do wrong?" Because I must have done something, to deserve this. Something other than taking Rose Weasley's spot as Head Girl. Except I didn't think I did. And the person who did this didn't even care. That was what really brought me back.

They didn't care. They didn't care. I just kept repeating it to myself as I went about cleaning up the room. A "Scourgify" here, a "Reparo" there, and soon I was done. Well. That wasn't so bad. I had actually been meaning to do some Charms practice. And it actually was quite a nice room when it wasn't covered in clutter. I nodded to myself and went off to bed quite a bit later than I had hoped. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke up a bit before six in the morning. I was a morning person and had never needed an alarm spell once in my life, a fact I was quite proud of. After stretching a bit, I pulled open the drapes and looked out across campus. There was a nice breeze out and the sun was almost above the horizon, so I decided to take a walk and enjoy it.

I quickly slipped on my robes and a pair of shoes and was out the door five minutes later. After two flights of stairs, a hidden corridor, and a trek through the courtyard, I was out of the castle. Inhaling the clear air, I started towards the Whomping Willow. I had always thought it looked rather sad: it stood completely alone and destroyed any other being that even tried to come close. I liked to pretend I could keep it company by sitting a safe distance away. I never tried to approach, though. Not after that time first year when I'd tried and had ended up in the hospital wing for a week recovering.

As I approached the Willow, though, I saw another figure there. A small, dark one in my usual spot. Once I was closer, I saw that it was none other than Roxanne Weasley, asleep on the grass at the base of the tree.

"Roxanne," I asked when I was next to her. She stirred but did not wake. I touched her shoulder. "Roxanne."

She opened her eyes and sat up groggily. "What happened?" she mumbled, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Where am I?"

"You're in front of the Whomping Willow. You must have fallen asleep," I told her. "But what were you doing out here in the first place?"

And then she began to cry. Startled, I patted her shoulder, uttering meaningless reassurances. When she began to calm down I leaned back and looked at her. "You okay?"

She nodded.

"Good. Now, what happened?

I braced myself for part two of the waterworks but they did not come. Instead, Roxanne began to tell her story. "After the f-feast, I l-left the Hu-Hufflepuffs and f-followed the Gryffi-ffindors up t-to their t-tower. Molly was one of the l-last ones in-n and I g-grabbed her and-d asked her t-to let m-me in, too. B-but she wouldn't. She s-said I was a Hufflepuff and c-couldn't be a W-Weasley anymore b-because I wasn't in G-Gryffindor. She told me to g-go away. S-so I came here." She looked tearfully up at me.

I didn't know what to do. What do you say to a kid when this happens? And it's her _family_! How could a cousin do this to her? But I had to say something. "It's okay, sweetie. Hufflepuff's a good house. I'm a Hufflepuff, too. Let's go get you cleaned up, now. Don't want to be late for the first day of classes. Tell you what, I'll even let you use the prefects' bathroom." That earned a watery smile.

"But I'm not a prefect," she said uncertainly.

"Well I'm Head Girl. I can get you in. You'll be the coolest first year ever, already in the prefects' bathroom," I said resolutely. Standing up and taking her hand, I lead Roxanne back into the school and to the bathroom (after getting another pair of robes for her to change into).

"Whoa! It's so big!" Roxanne exclaimed on seeing the tub.

I chuckled. "Yep. And it's got hundreds of different soaps for you to try out."

"That's so cool!" And without further ado she undressed (I turned around) and jumped in to play with the knobs and bubbles that came out. She seemed to have completely forgotten about the whole sorting event.

But I could not forget so easily. How was it that her own cousin could be so cruel? She had practically disowned poor Roxanne for getting sorted into a different house! And they were Weasleys for heaven's sake! Weasleys were supposed to be the models of the wizarding world. They had helped defeat Lord Voldemort. So how was it that they could be so mean to their own kin? I had no cousins so I didn't know the dynamics but it didn't seem right.

After finishing with the bath, Roxanne dressed and combed her hair. "You all done?" I asked her when she looked ready.

She nodded and I turned toward the door and walked out beside her. A flash of something red turned down the corridor ahead of us but I dismissed it as a trick of the light.

I walked Roxanne to the Hufflepuff common room near the kitchens and left her in much better spirits than I had found her.

Then I made my way up to my dorm to prepare for the first day of the new year.


	3. Accident

First period: Potions (N.E.W.T. Level)

I charmed my books to fly in front of me as I made my way down to the dungeons. I was running a bit late after my encounter with Roxanne. I entered the potions room just as Professor Nettlebed called the class to order. All the students returned to their seats, leaving just one open spot. Right next to Scorpius Malfoy. The infamously standoffish Slytherin Quidditch captain. Of course. I sighed and sat down.

"Today we will begin our study of Elemental Elixirs," Professor Nettlebed stated, pointing behind her to the board, where four potions were listed: the Elixirs of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. "Each of you will choose one of the potions listed and brew them for me by the end of class today. Instructions are on pages two-hundred and thirty-eight to two-hundred and forty-three. You have two hours."

I quickly flipped through my textbook to the assignment, read the instructions, and chose the Elixir of Earth for its restorative properties in plants. I thought I could bring some to the Whomping Willow after class was over. My father (a herbology professor, after all) would approve. I gathered ingredients and returned to the table, adding some mint sprigs and a crushed mandrake root to my cauldron. After the initial steps it had to simmer for thirteen and a half minutes, so I had time to take a short break.

I looked over at Scorpius to find him bent over his textbook but not reading it. I followed his gaze to a certain redheaded would-be Head Girl. Interesting. But his Elixir of Water was getting hopelessly burned, which was completely opposite the point of having a water elixir in the first place; it was supposed to _stop_ burning.

"Scorpius," I quietly called him back. "Your potion's about to catch on fire."

He started and looked at his cauldron which was smoking dangerously, then jumped up to add more water and Jobberknoll feathers. I scurried over to help, stirring the potion as he haphazardly poured in ingredients. As soon as it was in a slightly less dangerous state he looked up and thanked me quietly. Odd. He was supposed to be rude and snobbish, not polite and quiet. He was the son of the youngest Death Eater in history.

"No problem," I smiled. "But you should probably get some gillyweed before this sits for too long. I'll stir."

As he went off to the supply closet I had time to ponder his distraction. Scorpius Malfoy liked Rose Weasley. That was new. Last I'd seen they couldn't stand each other due to family rivalries. Well. I guess some things change.

I continued stirring Scorpius's potion, making sure the color didn't vary from a translucent blue, until he returned with the gillyweed and then went back to my own elixir, only to find it an ugly grayish-brown rather than the happy pale green it had been when I left it. I sniffed and smelled leech juice. Leech juice in my Elixir of Earth! I must have accidentally knocked it in when I went to help Scorpius. Or someone else had… But no, I couldn't believe that. It was an accident. An accident. It had to be.

I sighed and muttered, "Tergeo," and the cauldron emptied out. I started over, now half an hour behind on my potion. I could probably finish in the remaining hour and a half, but it would be close. I worked feverishly for the rest of class and finished just in time. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't gotten it done. The Head Girl had to set an example, right? I bottled a sample of the elixir and brought it up to Professor Nettlebed's desk.

"Professor," I began, waiting till she looked up to continue. "Would it be okay if I took the rest of my elixir with me? I wanted to give it to the Whomping Willow."

She smiled at me. "I think that would be lovely. Do you need any help carrying it?"

"No, I'm fine. I can do a Hover—"

I was cut off by Professor Nettlebed. "Nonsense. A small girl like you can't carry that cauldron!"

"No, really, Professor, I can just use a char—"

Before I could finish, though, she had called, "Mr. Potter!" and Albus was already coming over.

"Yes, Professor?" he said when he'd reached us, ignoring me completely.

"Would you be so kind as to help Miss Longbottom transport her potion to the grounds?" she asked in that professorish way that was not really asking at all, but a disguised command.

"Yes, of course, Professor," he said stiffly.

We stood there awkwardly for a moment until the Professor said, "Well, run along now. The Whomping Willow won't wait forever."

I forced a smile and went over to my cauldron, grabbing one handle. Albus took the other and together we lugged it out of the room and to the end of the corridor. There I stopped, saying, "Wait."

He let the cauldron sit on the ground and turned, glowering to face me. "Look, can you please hurry up? I don't have all day." He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to look imposing. I had seen Frank and my father do it enough times to know the posture well.

"I know," I replied. "You can go."

He looked startled. "But the Professor said—"

"Yes, I know, but apparently Professor Nettlebed has never heard of a Hover Charm." I pulled out my wand and uttered, "Wigardium Leviosa," waving it at the cauldron. And sure as socks, it rose about six inches off the ground. "See?" I asked, not unkindly (I hoped). "I'm all right." I smiled at him.

"O-okay," he said, still looking mildly unsettled, and turned up the stairs. I followed slowly, my cauldron floating a foot or two in front of me.

Once out of the dungeons, I went to the Whomping Willow, earning some strange looks, and let the cauldron fall to the ground there. I siphoned off small bits of the potion with my wand and sent them to areas around the base of the tree. As my cauldron emptied, the transformation of the tree was remarkable. The bark, which had gone slightly moldy and decayed, hardened and turned a healthy dark brown color. The leaves, red and brown with fall's coming changed back to yellow and eventually green as the potion sunk into the ground. The tree looked healthy for the first time in a while. It was old, I suppose, and didn't receive much care due to its violent temperament.

I smiled and hurried back to deposit my cauldron in the dungeon and pick up my schoolbooks. When I walked in, the Professor was in the middle of a first year introductory potions class. She was speaking about the wonders of potion-making to the new Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students. I spotted Roxanne and grinned. She smiled back from her spot next to another Hufflepuff, a girl named Ellen Kettletoft. I noticed that Molly Weasley was clear on the other side of the room, surrounded by Gryffindors. I waved to the Professor, picked up my things, and left for the library (I had a free period right now).

Potions was the only class in which we actually did something that day. The rest (Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Herbology) were spent with introductions and review of last year's material.

During dinner I discovered that I had a new companion: Roxanne plopped herself down right next to me and began to chatter excitedly about the first day, though I noticed that she avoided all mention of Gryffindors and Weasleys. I listened, nodding and replying when appropriate, glad that this little girl was happy now, the way children should be.

"Ooh, Alice," Roxanne suddenly burst out. "Can you show me the Heads' Dorm? It would be sooo cool so see the inside. Is it pretty? I bet you have a really big room. I want to be Head Girl when I'm a seventh year," she gushed.

"Do you? And when did you decide this?" I asked.

"During Transfiguration," she said proudly.

"Well. I think I _might_ be able to get you in. But I've got to stop by the library to get some studying done first," I told her.

"Really?"

And so after a while in the library I took Roxanne up to the third floor. "You can say the password," I told her on the way. "It's 'gillywater'."

"Okay," she said happily, skipping down to the unicorn painting. "Gillywater." But the painting did not swing open. The unicorn just looked at Roxanne. "Gillywater," she tried again. Nothing. She turned to me. "Maybe it only works if a Head does it," she guessed.

"Maybe," I said and stepped forward. "Gillywater." Still the painting did not open. I was positive that was the password. And this was the right painting. Surely I wasn't that confused… The only possibility was that the password had changed. Except I hadn't changed it. So that meant that the other Head must have… "Sorry, Roxanne. Looks like I forgot the password. It's getting late, though, so you should probably get back to the Hufflepuff dorms. I can show you tomorrow, though."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. "Okay. But how will you get in?"

"I'm sure I'll remember it soon," I said cheerfully, smiling. "You go on ahead."

She nodded and made her way down the corridor, to the stairs. Once I was sure she was gone I let my smile drop. How could I remember a password that I never knew in the first place? So I had three options: tell Professor McGonagall, tell my father, or sleep out here. I immediately crossed off the first choice; McGonagall would get me into the dorm but she would most likely punish Albus and I didn't want that to happen. My dad would let me sleep on the couch in his rooms and would (most likely) respect my wishes and tell no one. So that left sleeping here. Well. Stone floor for a bed and a library book for a pillow.

I settled down on the ground and tried to fall asleep. It took a while, but eventually I drifted off.

I heard a faraway sound and then felt a sudden pain in my side. I jolted up with a start and heard a much closer sound: someone crying out and crashing to the floor. I rubbed out my eyes and saw none other than Albus Potter laying sprawled on the ground next to me. "What on earth are you _doing_, Albus?" I winced at the pain in my neck as I turned to look at him. My Herbology textbook was _not_ a good pillow.

"What am _I_ doing?" He glared accusingly at me. "What are _you_ doing? Normal people don't just decide to lie down on the floor in front of their dorm!"

"Sorry. I seem to have… forgotten the password. Are you all right?" I stood up and offered him a hand. He did not take it but instead got up on himself.

Brushing off his robes, he said, "Well, I'm going to breakfast." He turned and began to walk down the corridor.

Was it that late already? And just yesterday I'd been congratulating myself for my early bird schedule. Well. I had to start getting ready. I turned towards the painting, only to remember that I didn't know the password. "Wait, Albus!" I called down the hall after him.

He stopped just next to the corner and turned to face me, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "What now?"

"What's the password?"

"It's Rose, of course," he said and spun back around, disappearing from view.

Rose. Of course.


End file.
